Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Andrew Brouse Named Patriot League Baseball Player of the Year, Six Bison Named All-League
5/11/2010 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 11, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell senior right fielder Andrew Brouse (Kreamer, Pa./Midd-West) was named the Patriot League Baseball Player of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday. Brouse was also one of six Bison named to the All-Patriot League Team. Brouse, senior catcher B.J. LaRosa (Jacksonville, Fla./Episcopal), junior first baseman Doug Shribman (Marblehead, Mass./Belmont Hill) and senior second baseman Ben Yoder (Belleville, Pa./Indian Valley) were first-team selections, while junior pitcher Dylan Seeley (Shavertown, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) and senior shortstop Ben Allen (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata) were second-team choices.
Bucknell's six all-league selections tied Holy Cross for the most in the league, while the four first-teamers equaled Army for the league high. Brouse and Yoder were unanimous first-team picks.
Five of the Bison's six all-league honorees are repeat selections. Allen (2008 Second Team), Brouse (2009 First Team), LaRosa (2009 First Team), Shribman (2009 Second Team) and Yoder (2008 & 2009 Second Team) were each recognized in the past.
With his selection as Player of the Year, Brouse is Bucknell's second honoree in a three-year span. He is the fourth Player of the Year overall for the program, joining Kevin Silverman (1996), Frank Fresconi (2000) and Jason Buursma (2008).
A right fielder who is one of only two Bison along with Allen to start all 52 games this year, Brouse is hitting .360 with 14 home runs and 48 RBIs. He owns a .473 on-base percentage and has scored a team-high 50 runs. His career-high 16 stolen bases pace the team and rank third in the Patriot League.
It has been a record-breaking season for Brouse, who is tied atop the Bucknell single-season home run list with Fresconi. The only Bison to post a pair of double-figure home run campaigns, Brouse broke Buursma's career home run record and his 27 place him one away from tying the Patriot League standard.
A two-time Academic All-District II selection, Brouse ranks in the top 10 on nine different Bucknell single-season lists and 13 career lists.
Brouse leads the Patriot League in home runs (14), runs scored (50) and total bases (120), and he ranks in the top five of stolen bases (3rd, 16), walks (2nd, 27), RBIs (2nd, 48), on-base percentage (3rd, .473) and slugging percentage (3rd, .674).
A durable catcher, LaRosa earned his second consecutive first-team citation with strong play both behind the plate and at bat. He hit .366 with two home runs and 31 RBIs while starting 48 of 52 games.
A right-handed hitter, LaRosa has posted three hitting streaks of at least seven games and was hitting over .500 after his first 14 games played. He is second on the team with 17 multi-hit games, 10 of which came in his first 12 games played.
LaRosa's average places him seventh in the Patriot League. He also ranks in the top 10 in hits (63) and on-base percentage (.441).
LaRosa has committed just three errors behind the plate and threw out 18 potential basestealers during the regular season. He also has a team-high three pickoffs.
Shribman, who owns a career average of .355, made the move from the second team to the first team after a second consecutive outstanding campaign. He is hitting .355 with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs. He is tied with Brouse atop the Patriot League with 120 total bases and is among the league leaders in hits, home runs, slugging percentage, RBIs and doubles.
A two-year starter at first base, Shribman ended the 2009 season on an 18-game hitting streak and after an 0-for-3 performance in this year's season opener at VMI, he reeled off a 13-game hitting streak, giving him hits in 31 out of 32 games. Overall this year, he has recorded at least one hit in 42 of 51 games and has not gone two straight contests without a hit.
Shribman's 13 home runs, eight of which came against Patriot League opponents, place him second in the Patriot League and third on Bucknell's single-season home run list. He now has 19 career home runs, good for sixth on the program's all-time list, and just eight behind Brouse's standard.
Yoder's third consecutive all-league honor came after a regular season in which he hit .386 with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs. He also cracked 15 doubles and scored 40 runs despite battling some nagging injuries throughout the season.
After making the second team as a third baseman last year, Yoder was honored as a second baseman this season. He stands fourth in the Patriot League in hitting and has registered at least one hit in 35 of 39 starts. He has posted four hitting streaks of at least five games, including a team-best 14-game streak in February and March.
Yoder will enter this weekend's Patriot League Tournament with a .337 career batting average, 187 career hits, 18 career home runs and 114 career RBIs, all ranking among the top 10 in Bucknell history. His .697 slugging percentage this year paces the Patriot League and is fifth on the Bison single-season ledger.
A left-handed hitter, Yoder hit home runs in three consecutive games earlier this year and his career-high 10 home runs have contributed to a record 55 team home runs this season.
Allen made it three-fourths of Bucknell's starting infield on the All-Patriot League Team with his second career second-team citation. A dependable shortstop, Allen has started 135 consecutive games at that position, including all 52 this year. He is hitting .329 with 11 doubles, a Patriot League-high six triples and a team-high 69 hits. He has posted at least one hit in 17 of the last 18 games and 44 of 52 overall.
This year, Allen, who earned his second straight Academic All-District II honor last week, has posted a team-high 19 multi-hit games and is among the Patriot League leaders in hits (3rd, 69), triples (1st, 6) and runs (3rd, 45). He ranks in the top 10 on six Bucknell single-season lists and 10 career categories. His 210 at bats this season are a record, while he is just five hits (212) away from the career standard, currently held by Tyler Prout.
Seeley captured his first All-League honor after an outstanding season, particularly over his final three starts. The lanky right hander yielded just one run and 14 hits in 21.0 innings over his last three starts, all of which were complete games and all three were victories. Twice during the span he hurled shutouts with the Bison winning by 1-0 scores both times. He just missed a third shutout, allowing Lehigh to score a single run with one out in the final inning of an 8-1 win. It was the lone run he has given up since April 10.
Seeley has recorded career bests in wins (5), complete games (3), shutouts (2), innings pitched (70.0) and strikeouts (44) this year. His 13 career wins place him one victory shy of 10th place on the program's all-time list. He leads the Patriot League in innings, shutouts and games started and is third in ERA (3.47).
While Seeley has been especially strong against Patriot League opponents (3-1, 3.38 ERA), he has been effective all year long, holding opponents to four earned runs or fewer in nine of his 11 starts. A durable pitcher, he has lasted at least five innings in 10 of his 11 starts and at least seven innings in seven of 11 starts.
Bucknell (21-31, 8-12 PL) will begin postseason play this weekend when it plays a best-of-three first-round series at Army. The fourth-seeded Bison and top-seeded Black Knights will square off in a doubleheader Saturday at noon with a single game Sunday at 1 p.m., if necessary. The winner of the series will advance to the following weekend's (May 22-23) Patriot League Championship Series against either Lehigh or Holy Cross.
First-Team All-Patriot League*
SP Matt Fouch, Army (Sr.)
SP Andrew Berger, Lehigh (Sr.)
RP Kevin McKague, Army (Jr.)
C B.J. LaRosa, Bucknell (Sr.)
1B Doug Shribman, Bucknell (Jr.)
2B Ben Yoder, Bucknell (Sr.)
SS Clint Moore, Army (Jr.)
3B Matt Perry, Holy Cross (Sr.)
OF Alex Azor, Navy (So.)
OF Andrew Brouse, Bucknell (Sr.)
OF Ben Koenigsfeld, Army (Jr.)
OF Jack Laurendeau, Holy Cross (Jr.)
OF Michael Speciale, Navy (Sr.)
DH Matt Fenster, Lafayette (Jr.)
* - 14 players due to ties in voting
Second-Team All-Patriot League$
SP Nate Koneski, Holy Cross (So.)
SP Ben Nelson, Navy (Fr.)
SP Dylan Seeley, Bucknell (Jr.)
RP Cory Kent, Lehigh (So.)
C Stephen Wadsworth, Holy Cross (Fr.)
1B Kevin Mihalik, Lehigh (Jr.)
2B Matthew Curley, Navy (Sr.)
SS Ben Allen, Bucknell (Sr.)
3B Jim McConlogue, Lehigh (Jr.)
OF Nick Ciardiello, Holy Cross (Jr.)
DH Steve Tkowski, Holy Cross (So.)
$ - 11 players due to ties in voting
Player of the Year: Andrew Brouse, Bucknell
Pitcher of the Year: Matt Fouch, Army
Rookie of the Year: Stephen Wadsworth, Holy Cross
Coach of the Year: Sean Leary, Lehigh
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Ben Koenigsfeld, Army
